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Wednesday, 7 September 2011

Lost Crown of Neverwinter - Session 4

We had a couple of minor table changes for this evening session.
Our lovely Bladesinger was at home sick and the Halfling thief Locke was
nowhere to be found. Doing their best to pick up the slack were a Scout and a
Range. Their ranged attacks might have been more helpful if they hadn’t kept
firing at targets that were within melee reach, but more on that later.

The players settle in and get ready for the Encounters Session.

A quick trip across lake to
the Lord Protector’s castle was all it took to get the scene started. The main
group of PC’s arrived at the same time as a second boat that contained the scouts
and ranger. The General turned the group over to an aide who quickly led them
up the walkway and into a room where they were to wait for the Lord Protector. In
the few minutes they had they quickly examined the room. Most of the questions
revolved around what they could line their own pockets with. Their own
exploration was cut short as the doors were opened and the Lord Protector
arrival announced.

The Protector knew how to
make a grand entrance and drew the group’s attention instantly to him. Fondle
the great, was instantly attracted to the Lord Protector, the handsome man that
he was. An aide followed him in and supplied the group with a selection of
meat, cheese, and bread. Other offers of food and drink were ignored or outright
rejected. In the end the players were much more interested in getting down
business.

The Protector acknowledged
and respected their desires and made his offer in plain simple language. He
wanted them to find and bring the So-called heir to him. Then they could discuss
the state of Neverwinter and his claim to the throne face to face. So far all
attempts at diplomacy had been ignored. The group was once again somewhat split
in their reaction to the Protector vs. The Heir. They wanted to ensure that the
Heir wasn't being brought in to be executed. He was quick to reassure them that
was not the case and that he only wished to talk.

In the end it was the Lord Protector’s
generous offer that ended any discussion among the party. Afterwards they were
all given a new badge as well as their initial payments. Then sent on their way
to an awaiting carriage where they were given a tour of the wall that kept the
Plaguechanged out of the recovering section of the city. The tour ended when
they arrived at one of the gates and noticed a few men in blood splattered
cloaks lingering around the entrance and no sign of the guards. They were quick
to act. Our new Ranger peppered a group of bandits with arrows and with that
attack combat was underway.

The wall section is from a Heroescape accessory.

Two of the bandits ducked
into the gate house, closing the doors behind them, and began to work the
cranks that would open the gates. A third one that was close to the door moves out
enough to toss a dagger but stay near enough to the doors to run interference.
The rest of them mobbed the archer that had just turned them in to pin
cushions.

Those fighting furthest
from the gate were being stalled by the bandits although they didn't know it
yet. The group’s new Drow scout proved once again that his race wasn’t one to
be trusted when he fired a rapid shot volley with the Fondle the Great, at the
centre of the burst. Of course he scored a solid hit on fondle and did a poor
man's crit. At least one of the two bandits in the burst was also hit.

It didn't take long for
someone to break away from the main melee and to rush for the doors. He was
intercepted by the bandit nearest the doors. One of the bandits inside swung
open the door threw a dagger and then closed the door behind him. This tactic
became a major part of the bandit strategy - Minor Action to open the door / Standard Action to attack / Minor Action
to close the door / repeat as required.

The first PCs to make to
the doors were the party's Ranger and the Scout they both pulled open the door
and fired their bow. They both also received a Mace to the side of their head
for their efforts. Opportunity attacks are a wonderful thing especially when a
DM gets to use them. In the end their attacks were enough to bloody both of the
remaining bandits.

On the bandits turn they
took their attack and closed the door behind them. By then the group’s fighter
had reached the door and went in and finish off one of the bandits. On the
other side of the gate the bandit had made the mistake of shifting out of the
door and a party member made good use of the mistake and got inside to finish
him off.

Everyone was fairly
surprised by how quickly they had blown through the Encounter. Then the arrival
of Seldry made everything make sense. About half of my table had played throughGates of Neverdeathand their PC recognized her at once. They did ask about the
whereabouts of the crown and if she could help them find the Heir. Of course
she declined and directed them to the tavern. One character who had shown the
most loyalty to the Heir asked if she would come with them. Again she declined
saying that she had business with the Lord Protector she had to attend too.
Afterwards she wished them luck and continued on her way.

It was a good session all
in all. My only disappointment was that none of the PCs ran for the gate and
jumped on it to try and pull it back down.
I thought it would have been a rather heroic moment would have made a
great peace of cinema.

2 comments:

Very engaging description of the encounter! I was impressed with your creativity of the series of events. My DM threw the bandits at everyone and it was just fight, fight, fight. I like how you sent them to the guard house and had them opening the gate. When I had my character (dragonborn warlock) secure the gate, he looked at me like I had three heads. I guess he just wanted us to fight the bandits and get it over with. Your sessions seem pretty fun.

Thank you, and for your kind words. I try and take each encounter session and turn it in to something I would be willing to run for my home table. Sometimes that is as simple as just running the encounter other times I have to get a little more creative. I wish someone at my table had secured the gate.